The Bear's Mate (7 page)

“As
my way of saying thank you, I’d like to take you to lunch.”

“There’s
really no need, like I said it’s my job to help patients.”

“Okay,
then how about I just take you to lunch without it being a thank you meal.”

Had that come
across as pushy?

She
laughed. “Okay, but I was late getting into the clinic this morning and I have
patients to see all day, so lunch isn’t possible. I could probably do dinner.”

He
bit his lip. That might be too late, not to eat, but she might have given the
vial of blood to a lab by then, but he’d cornered himself here.
Not that he wouldn’t want to take her out for dinner.
However, she’d probably get all dressed up. She’d look drop dead gorgeous and
that could lead to trouble for both of them. On the other hand, he really needed
to know the name of the lab without looking too suspicious. If he had to get
her into bed to do it, well, he’d fuck her first, pay the consequences later.

“Okay,
tell me where to pick you up?”

“I’ll
give you my home address and shall we say 7:30 p.m.? I’ll make sure I lock the clinic
doors right at 6:00 p.m. and I have to make a stop to see my dad first.”

“Okay.
I have a pen and paper if you want to give me your address.”

He
wrote it down. He knew the area well, so it wouldn’t be too hard to find.

“See
you later then,” he said.

“Looking forward to it.”

He
pressed the end call button and leaned back in the chair. He’d never made love
to a human before. That was assuming he and the good doctor would be having sex
tonight. Well, just in case it came down to that he’d need to start doing some
research on what exactly turned them on.

Chapter Six

“Doctor,
can I have this blood pressure cuff taken off my arm now?”

“What?”
The patient’s voice had startled Charlotte who had been staring out the window
in a dream-like state since she’d taken the call from Aiden. She hadn’t realized
the cuff was still wrapped around the arm of an elderly gentleman until he’d
spoken up. Lucky for him she hadn’t continued to inflate it.

“I’m
sorry. I didn’t sleep very well last night, and I was miles away.”

Liar, liar, it’s
all to do with a handsome man.

“So
how’s my blood pressure?” he asked rolling down his sleeve.

“It’s
much lower, so the medication is working. I’d like you to keep taking the
tablets, and continue with the low sodium diet too.”

“I
hate that. Nothing tastes the same now.”

“Better than having high blood pressure
and another stroke.”

“Yeah, yeah.”

“Do
you want me to write a prescription for a refill while you’re here?”

“Might
as well. It saves me coming back.”

Charlotte
swung around on her stool and reached for her prescription pad, wrote it up,
tore it off, and handed it to the man.

He
looked at it and squinted. “My first name’s John, not Aiden.”

Floor
open up and swallow me now. Mr. Renner had more of an effect on her than she’d
initially thought, or would like to admit.

“Guess
it’s the bad night’s sleep,” said the man handing it back to her.

She
tore it up, threw it in the bin, and then wrote another one checking she’d gotten
the name right this time. God, what must he think of an incompetent doctor like
her?

She
stood and walked him through to the reception area.

“Was
Mr. May the last patient of the day?” Charlotte asked Ginny, the receptionist.

“Sure
was.”

“Let’s
lock the door and not tempt fate like I did last night,” said Charlotte
hurrying toward the front entrance. She slid the bolt across and turned over
the sign that said the clinic was closed and gave the directions to the nearest
ER. Of course, last night had brought Aiden into the clinic…

“So
you have anything fun planned for tonight?” asked Ginny putting away the
knitting she often did when things got slow at the front desk.

“Actually
I do. I’m going out on a, well, I’m not sure if it’s a date or what you’d call
it. A guy who was in here late yesterday wants to take me out for a meal as a
thank you for looking after his brother.”

“Wow,
but shouldn’t it be the brother doing that?” Ginny slipped on her raincoat and
tied her scarf around her neck.

Ginny
had a valid point there. Maybe Aiden wanted to ask her out, didn’t have the
nerve, and had used Christopher as the perfect excuse.

“So
is he cute?” asked Ginny.

“Oh yeah.”

“Your
eyes glazed over when you said that, so I take it he’s very attractive.” She
put on her gloves and picked up her purse. “Well, I’ll see you in the morning,
and you can tell me all about your date or whatever it turns out to be.”

Charlotte
walked with Ginny to the employee’s entrance and reached for her own coat as
she closed the door shut. Just one thing she needed to do before she left.
Charlotte went to the supply cupboard and pulled out a box of condoms.
Wishful thinking maybe?
She put them into her bag. Hopefully
they’d get some use sometime soon.

****

Aiden
had booked a table for two at Portofinos. It was the first place he’d thought
of and wasn’t sure why. After all, it was a romantic hole in the wall type
place that you took your lover, not someone you’d just met. And definitely not
a woman who you’d only asked out because you had a motive in mind.

Still
the food and wine were both excellent, if a little on the pricey side for his
salary, but maybe she’d relax, and hence let her guard down. Perhaps it would
be his guard that would be lowered. He hoped she wasn’t planning on wearing
something sexy. Just thinking about it was making him break out into a sweat.
He opened up the drawer in his desk. He’d bought a whole bunch of magazines
during his lunch break. He’d sat in his car perusing some of them and then
decided to bring them inside to hide them just in case someone saw them on the
car seat. Some were women’s magazines with articles about sex and dating. A few
were girlie magazines so he could get a preview of what the view between her
legs would look like should it reach that stage.
 
One thing he’d already discovered that she
definitely wouldn’t look like a female shifter. Humans had parts that they
didn’t. What if he did something wrong and didn’t please her. He slammed the
drawer shut when he heard someone approaching and pretended to be making some
notes.

Why
was he so worried about pleasing and pleasuring her? All the wanted was the
information, and then he’d never see her again. He opened up his notebook. He
taken some key points from the online site he’d checked out too. Foreplay was
big with humans, kissing, stroking, especially their clitoris before actual
intercourse. None of the just fuck me and make it fast stuff that shifters
loved so much. Would he find it, would he fumble and seem like a virgin? It might
not get to this part, so it was pointless getting himself all worked up.

Aiden
glanced at the clock on the wall and realized he just had enough time to go
home to change before he headed over to Charlotte’s house to pick her up.

* * * *

Charlotte
wasn’t sure why she was taking so much time getting ready. She wasn’t usually
this much of a perfectionist. She’d tried on five dresses and settled for the
red strapless one. It was the sexiest of the bunch. Okay, she knew perfectly
well why she’d picked it. If he wasn’t convinced it was a date at the beginning
of the evening, he damn well would be by the time they’d finished their meal.

 
She worked, she went to see her dad, she
slept, rinse and repeat.
Day in and day out, the same thing.
She needed a social life to balance things out. And yes, she was in need of sex
too. Charlotte had never gone through a dry spell like this, and she needed to
get horizontal to take all the kinks and stress out of her body. She couldn’t
think of a better person to do just that than a guy like Aiden.

She
checked her evening bag. Lipstick, comb, and just in case they went to his
place and not back here, the package of condoms. She heard the doorbell ring as
she snapped the purse shut. Her heartbeat picked up intensity making it sound
in her head.
Calm down, he’s just like
any other man
.

The
doorbell sounded again and she realized she’d been tardy in answering it.

When
she opened it back, Aiden stood there looking even more delectable than he had
the first time she’d seen him. Last night he’d been dressed in a sweatshirt and
jeans, tonight black slacks and jacket and a white shirt with two buttons open
rounded out the outfit. Some dark chest hairs curled over the top of the
collar, his hair was combed back, and his eyes bluer than she’d first thought.
She really hoped this was a date, and while she never usually slept with a guy
on a first date, tonight she’d make an exception because who knew when the
opportunity would come around again.

“I
thought you’d forgotten about our dinner date…I mean when you didn’t answer the
door.”

“Sorry,
I was on the phone about a patient.”

Liar.

“Looks
like
it’s
going to rain, so if you’re ready let’s head
out now before it starts,” he said.

“Good
idea. I’ll grab my purse and be right with you.”

Charlotte
took it from the table in the hallway, stepped outside, locked the door, and
then followed him down the path. He stopped, opened the passenger door for her
and she scooted in. The sides of her raincoat parted, and she suddenly remembered
the dress she was wearing was on the tight side and rode up when she sat down.
She never was one for pantyhose, but on cold evenings she felt like she needed
something on her legs. This evening she’d opted for thigh highs, their lace
trim tops sneaking just below the hem of the dress. Charlotte tried to pull the
edge of the dress down, but it was too late, they’d been spotted because he
wasn’t taking his eyes off the top of her legs. She scooted back in the seat
hoping that would help. He closed the door and then headed around to the driver’s
side.

He
slid in beside her. The mixture of his own masculine scent, and a spicy
aftershave mingled and filled the air. She took a deep breath knowing she
wanted to make love with him more with each passing minute.

The
first splash of rain hit the windshield as he pulled away from the curb.

“You
from Montana?” she asked him, hoping to keep the conversation neutral to begin
their evening.

“Uh, yes.
How about you?”

“Yes,
fifth generation.”

 
“And you’ve always been a doctor?” he asked
glancing sideway at her.

“Yep,
knew I wanted to be one since I was five years old and performed my first
examination on one of my dolls. How about you, you always want to be in
wildlife management?”

“Anything
that can get me out and not sitting at a desk all day is perfect.”

“Yeah.
I bet you get
plenty of fresh air.”

“By
the way, I hope you like Italian food.”

“I
love it.”

“And
we’re just about here. Afraid we’ll have to walk a block because there’s no
street parking in front of the restaurant, and they don’t have a parking lot
either.”

He
pulled into a side road close to the heart of the downtown area and parallel
parked between two SUVs.

Before
she’d had a chance to open the door, he’d rushed around to her side of the car
pulled it back and held her hand as she got out. Was it just to see the view
when her coat parted, and he could get another glimpse of her legs, or was Aiden
a perfect gentleman? She’d be happy with either one.

“Here
let me put my jacket over our heads.”

He
raised it above them, and she edged closer so she didn’t get her hair or coat
wet. The warmth of his body made her forget she was wearing a short dress and
thin raincoat on what was turning out to be a frigid night.

As
they approached the restaurant, a man exiting it held the door open for them.
The smell of tomatoes, garlic, and other yummy things hit Charlotte’s nostrils
and made her stomach rumble.

“You
sound as hungry as me,” said Aiden shaking the rain from his jacket.

Had
her belly been that loud or was his hearing that great?

“I
didn’t have time for lunch today,” she said.

“Hi,
reservations for two for Renner,” Aiden told the ma
ître
d.

The man behind the desk crossed through the name and
grabbed two
menus.
“If you’d like to follow me.”

They
were shown to a table for two by the window. The whole place was dimly lit with
just candles flickering on the tables offering a dreamy romantic feel.