2#Unlikely Mates: BBW Shifter/Vampire Romance (2 page)

Becky
moved the stethoscope a little to the right. “Another deep breath for me
please, Mr. Bradford.”

The
elderly gentleman did as she asked. After several repeats, Becky did the same
on his upper back, listening each time. “Good news, Mr. Bradford, your lungs
are sounding clear so it looks like the antibiotics have done the trick.” Her
patient had been in a week earlier with a nasty chest infection. If left
untreated, he would most likely have ended up in the hospital. Thankfully she
caught it in time.

“Good
to know. I’m hardly even coughing anymore.” It was as if he suddenly remembered
to do just that, because he had a little coughing bout while putting his hand
over his mouth.

Once
he finished, Becky added, “I’m just going to do a routine check of your blood
pressure and then we’re done. Please pull up your sleeve.”

Today
was her first day back at work and it felt good. She loved being a doctor. She
enjoyed the interaction with her patients, that one to one connection. She even
made house calls when the situation warranted. There was no doubt in her mind
that she would have done great as a surgeon, like her parents wanted, but this
was more her scene. Surgeons needed to be more reserved, holding their patients
at arm’s length. Also, unconscious people couldn’t talk back. No, the thought
of having to play God just didn’t sit right with her.

Her
father was a neurosurgeon who specialized in neuro-oncology and her mother was
a congenital heart surgeon who specialized in operating on children and infants
with heart disease. Becky had been made to feel like a failure for settling on
just being a plain general practitioner. She wasn’t specialized, let alone a
surgeon. Her parents were both so disappointed in their only child. She sighed,
wrapping the cuff around Mr. Bradford’s arm and forcing herself to smile at
him.

“Why
so glum?”

She
shook her head. “I was just thinking that there is no pleasing some people.”
She shrugged. “No matter how hard you try.”

“Young
lady, there is only one person in this world that you need to worry about
pleasing and that’s yourself. I’m not saying that you should do this at the
expense of others.”

She
pushed the bladder rapidly, inflating the cuff.

“What
I am saying is”—his watery eyes stayed on her—“if you are happy, those that
truly love you will be happy for you no matter what path you choose. You will
never please everyone in this world and you shouldn’t take that responsibility
onto yourself anyways.”

“Wise
words.” She nodded. “Your blood pressure is good.” She smiled, feeling much
better. “Thanks. I needed to hear that. I just sometimes worry that I made some
wrong decisions along the way. I second guess myself even though I shouldn’t.”

The
old man chuckled. “That’s normal, though I’m sure you did go wrong sometimes.
Making mistakes is normal too. It’s how we learn. Thing is not to make them a
second time. Keep looking forward, you’re going to fall on your ass if you
don’t keep your eyes on the path ahead of you.”

“You’re
right, Mr. Bradford.” Becky removed the cuff and lightly touched his arm.
“We’re all done.”

He
smiled warmly as he rolled his sleeve back down. “Thank you.”

“Oh
no…thank you.” They both walked to the door which Mr. Bradford insisted on
holding open for her.

“No
charge, Elisabeth.” Becky inclined her head to her receptionist. She knew he
lived off of a small pension.

“Oh,
that’s very kind. Thank you, doc.” Mr. Bradford smiled.

“Is
it my turn now?” A familiar gravelly voice sounded to the right of her.

Her
breathing turned slightly choppy and her back turned rigid. She kept her eyes
on her receptionist, not able to face him just yet. She heard the door click as
Mr. Bradford left her clinic.

“No,
sir.” Sarah stood from behind the reception desk. “You haven’t filled in the
forms I gave you and as I mentioned earlier, it is Dr. Shaw’s lunch break. She
then has two scheduled patients and will be able to see you at”—Sarah glanced
at her watch—“one o’clock.”

Becky’s
heart raced as she turned, taking in all six and a half delicious feet of him.
Damn,
damn and damn again.
He was even more delicious than she remembered. Short
styled hair, thick and black. Perfect for clutching. She was sure it would be
soft and silky to the touch. He was really big, possibly bigger even than
Rushe. Jeans and a T-shirt had never looked better on a man…male. She swallowed
hard.

Ross
crumpled the forms using one giant hand. His dark eyes never leaving her. “I
will see her…you now.” His voice was a low growl that had goose bumps forming
all over her body. “Please.” He added, his eyes locked with hers.

“Sir,
I’m afraid I’m going to have to ask—”

“It’s
okay, Elisabeth. I’ll see him.” Becky said while watching how her
receptionist’s mouth dropped open.

“I
will stand outside the door.” A second huge male stepped forward. “Hello, sweet
human.” The male addressed Elisabeth who gasped into her hand, her skin turning
a lighter shade of pale.

“Are
these…?” she whispered. “They must be…?” she muttered.

“This
is Griffin,” Ross said. “We are vampires.” For the first time, his eyes turned
away from her to glance briefly at Elisabeth who looked like she might faint at
any moment.

“You
might want to sit down, Elisabeth,” Becky said.

“We
are vampires but we will not harm you.” The other male smiled at her
receptionist.

Elisabeth
slid down into her chair, her mouth was a thin white line. She made a tiny
noise which spoke of fear and panic even though she almost seemed calm.

“They’re
good. Don’t worry. Remember, I told you that my best friend married the vamp
kings? Well that’s how I know Ross, we have been friends for a while now.”

Elisabeth
swallowed thickly and nodded slowly.

The
male she now knew as Griffin inclined his head for a second. “Fear not human,
we are not permitted to drink from humans so you are quite safe.”

“Good
to know,” Elisabeth squeaked, her eyes were wide in her head.

“I
won’t be long,” Becky said.

“How
long is your lunch?” Ross asked. His intense gaze seemed to bore into her.

“A
half hour”—Becky glanced at her watch—“make that twenty five minutes.”

“She
will be twenty five minutes,” Ross said, his eyes still locked with hers. He
moved forward, entering her personal space and invariably herded her into her
clinic.

“Call
if you need anything.” She heard her receptionist shout just before Ross shut
the door.

“I
thought I told you to leave me alone.” She folded her arms across her chest.

He
shook his head. “I can’t do that.”

“You
vampires are all a bunch of grade-A assholes. I may have been interested once
upon a time, but I’m so over it now.”

His
face turned solemn. “You must believe me when I tell you that I didn’t agree
with Brant’s treatment of the wolf and his pack, or of the things he said to
Stephany. He acted like a colossal idiot but I had to follow my orders.” His
eyes darkened. “The only reason I volunteered to join with Brant on the
expedition was so that I could see you. Please believe me.”

“Following
orders, huh?” She narrowed her eyes at him. “And if Brant told you to jump into
a fire would you do that too?”

He
looked confused for a few seconds before shrugging. “Yes, I would.”

She
couldn’t help the incredulous sound that escaped her. “That’s freaking
crazy…you would burn to a crisp all because your king told you to do it?”

“It
would be greatly uncomfortable but I would heal quickly. I don’t see the big
deal.”

She
kept forgetting that they had extra abilities. “If he told you to stab yourself
with a silver knife would you do it?”

Ross
shook his head. “That would be stupid.”

“You
see?” She put her hands on her hips. “You don’t have to follow orders.”

“I
do if I want to keep my balls, but if it’s a choice between my balls and dying
on a silver blade I’ll take my chances and opt not to be stabbed. Why are you
asking me all of these silly questions?”

His
eyes dropped to her breasts and then lower, not that he could see much under
her buttoned up lab coat. The big vampire groaned, his eyes filled with
untethered desire.

“Don’t.
I told you that I’m not interested.” A bald faced lie, but maybe she would
start believing it herself if she kept saying it.

His
nostrils flared. “Your scent tells me otherwise.”

Becky
grit her teeth in sheer frustration. These non-humans and their sense of smell.
Wait just a freaking minute. It probably meant that he could smell Rushe on
her. “What are you playing at? You can’t possibly want me.”

“I
just said that I do and I plan on having you. I’ve waited a very long time.”
His eyes narrowed for a second as his nostrils flared again. They then turned
smoldering hot. “Take off your clothes or I will destroy them.”

“Wait
just a minute, buddy.” Becky wagged her finger at him. “You cannot come into my
place of business and demand that I take off my clothes. We are not having sex
here.” She whispered the last even though Elisabeth couldn’t possibly hear her.

“I
need to be inside you. Need it so badly that I ache.” His muscles bunched and
his jaw locked.

“Well,
you should have thought about that before you followed all of Brant’s bullshit
orders.” She knew she was being a bit unreasonable, but she didn’t like how her
heart pounded at the thought of him between her legs. How her nether regions
turned soaking wet just by looking at the sexy vampire. They had spent months
texting one another and although it had started out flirtatious, even down
right steamy, they had also texted about other things. Like what they were
doing. What they were feeling. It had become a ritual for Ross to send her a
goodnight text every night. After the whole Ward and Steph thing, she’d ignored
his messages, deleting them before she read them. It was only right at this
moment that she realized how much she had missed hearing from him.

Becky
gave herself a mental shake, it wasn’t that long ago that she had been with
Rushe. Less than two days. She might want to play the field a bit, but
gosh…less than two days…this was taking it a bit far.

“I
told you, I didn’t have a choice.” He looked pained. “Please try and forgive
me. I know that you like me…that you want me.” His voice turned gravelly. “I
have petitioned hard…have done everything short of begging and have finally
been granted permission to have you.”

“You
should’ve tried harder to make this happen sooner.” She shook her head, “It’s
too late.”

Ross
growled loudly. Not as deep or as raw as the wolves, but it was still a
terrifying noise that made her gasp.

“I
would never hurt you.” Ross’ voice was still gravelly, although now at least he
sounded calm. “Just tell me this one thing, do you love the wolf?”

Becky
made a choking sound.
Oh shit!
She knew he could scent Rushe on her, but
somehow she hadn’t expected him to actually bring it up. Especially not after
he’d been in her company for this long without saying anything.

He
shook his head, looking pained. “Please, just tell me you don’t love him. Do
you plan on mating him?” Then his whole stance hardened up, his back stiffened,
his muscles bulged. “I found you first. We have been messaging for months. You
said I could rut you…why is it too late?”

“Calm
down. I’m not mating anyone.”

He
let out a huge sigh and actually smiled at her…oh god, what a smile it was. She
felt her knees go weak and had to put her hand out on the chair behind her to
steady herself. “I’m not mating him but I’m also not falling into bed with
you.”

Ross
looked around the small clinic, his eyes landing on the examination table
before sliding to the wall to the right of her. “I would like to take you
against that wall. We do not need a bed.”

Desire
coursed through her. “Lunch break is over in fifteen minutes.” She looked at
the wall clock above his head.

Ross
threw her a grin that had her pussy clenching and her clit throbbing. “I can
make you come at least three times in the next fifteen minutes. Do not let time
concern you.”

“I
can’t…couldn’t possibly, after just two nights ago… it just wouldn’t be…”

Ross
growled. “You won’t let me have you because that wolf rutted you? What did he
do to you? Are you afraid?” His eyes turned deadly and his hands fisted at his
sides.

Becky
held up her hands. “No, don’t misunderstand…he never hurt me…oh god, the
opposite is true.” His eyes narrowed, so she didn’t elaborate. “I can’t have
sex with you so soon after him. It wouldn’t be right.”

“Because
you have feelings for him?”