Vet's Desire (13 page)

Wiping his
hands on the front of his t-shirt, he scowled. What he needed was
to get a hard-hearted woman and boink her brains out.

However, just
the thought of being intimate right after sharing that special,
unplanned time with Cindy, seemed…disgusting. As disgusting as the
used condom in his pocket.

With a shudder,
he removed it, wrapped it in tissues and went out the back to throw
it into the big bin. It slid out of sight beneath an assortment of
paper and other paraphernalia.

Just as easily
as he’d slid into Cindy’s tight heat.

No no no! No
more Cindy Lawson!

Storming
inside, he scrubbed his hands, did a last check of the animals, set
the alarm and locked up before going to his car. He was so
frustrated that he accidentally set off his own car alarm when he
tried to unlock and open it without turning off the alarm
first.

Fumbling with
the keys, he dropped them and watched them go under the car.
Cursing beneath his breath, he dropped onto hands and knees and
fished under the car. A press of the button and the annoyingly loud
alarm peal was silenced. He heard another car pull up behind him
and thinking it was a client, he straightened and tried to wipe the
scowl off his face.

He obviously
hadn’t totally succeeded, because when he turned around it was to
find a cop car right behind him and Mike regrading him steadily
from the window. Alan, his partner, waved cheerfully from his seat
beside him.

“Having a
little trouble?” Mike rumbled.

“Not a good
day.”

“Going by your
face, I’d guess not.” Those cop eyes felt like they were drilling
holes into his forehead. “Want to talk about it?”

“Seriously,
what is with you and Rick and friggin’ talking?”

Those pale blue
eyes became even more intent. “What’d you do?”

“Me? What did
I
do?” Tim threw his hands out to the sides. “What makes you
think I did anything?”

“I’ve known you
a long time. You’re rattled about something.”

“I just want to
go home and forget today ever happened. And no.” Tim stabbed his
finger towards Mike. “I don’t want you to drop around and have a
little heart-to-heart with me.”

“Chick
problems,” Alan observed cheerfully. “I can tell.”

“Yeah?” Mike’s
gaze never left Tim’s face.

“Yeah. Only a
chick can stir a man up like that.” Alan nodded sagely. “Must be
some chick.”

“Jesus,” said
Tim.

“You will need
His help if you continue like that.”

“Thank you Dr
Freud.”

“Ooohhh, sexual
reference.” Alan nudged Mike. “Told you. Chick problems.”

Shaking his
head, Tim moved the key towards the lock.

“Uh-huh.” Mike
continued to study Tim. “Seen Cindy lately?”

A jerk of his
hand and Tim missed the lock altogether, wincing as his key gouged
a line in the metallic paint of his door. “Damn it!” What, did Mike
have x-ray vision? See visions, in fact? See the past?

See the guilt
stamped all over Tim’s face?

Probably. Which
was why Tim didn’t turn to face his friend until he’d managed to
don a blank façade.

Mike took one
look at that façade and pointed at him. “We’re having a talk
later.”

“What?” Tim
watched as the cop car pulled away. “What for?”

Mike just
looked back at him once and drove off.

Yeah, Tim’s
nuts were going to be nailed to the wall.

Unlocking the
door, he dropped into his car, rammed the key into the ignition and
started the engine. The powerful roar of the sports car didn’t
soothe his feelings and he’d have been tempted to irresponsibly
burn a bit of rubber going out of the car park to relieve some of
his tension, but Mike, damn his shrewd hide, had his cop car parked
right at the entrance and was standing there with the radar gun
aimed right at Tim.

Friends.
Couldn’t live with them, but sometimes he was damned sure he could
live without them.

Having enough
of everyone, Tim drove straight home. Entering his home, he took a
deep breath of lemon-scented air and felt the peace settle into his
very bones. Tension seeped from him and he relaxed.

Ahhhh, nothing
like home sweet home.

Putting his
dinner in the oven to heat up, he went upstairs and showered,
donned clean boxers and padded downstairs again in bare feet.

Dishing up a
heaping bowl of casserole, he went into the lounge and settled into
his armchair. Flipping on the TV, he rested back into the chair and
ate every delicious bite of food.

Now, this was
the life. No damned women, no damned friends, no damned anything.
Just him, the giggle box, food and an iced coffee.

This was just
sad. This was what life had become, and there was one person to
blame - Cindy Lawson, that voluptuous babe.

Sighing, Tim
concentrated on the TV and ruthlessly pushed the irritating woman
to the back of his mind. Within an hour he was asleep. An hour
later he awoke with a hard-on and the memory of those luscious
curves beneath his hands.

He had a bad
feeling that dismissing Cindy wasn’t going to be as easy as he’d
determined.

That’s what
happened when you had sex with the nice girls. It messed with the
brain cells.

~*~

The next
morning, Tim buried himself in work. If there was one thing that
could take his mind of any problems, it was the care of animals. He
tended to the animals and the sometimes neurotic owners as
well.

He was just
coming around the corridor corner when he heard Cindy’s name. It
was spoken in a man’s voice, and curiously he stopped and peered
around the corner.

The
blonde-haired man at the reception desk just had to be related to
her. No one could miss the similarities - blonde hair, blue eyes,
only his features were definitely masculine. Didn’t Cindy have a
couple of brothers? He’d heard about them at a party, and he was
sure he’d seen this one with a giggling woman hanging off his arm.
Two, in fact, one off each arm. The man was a regular lothario.

Today he was
alone but he was doing a good job of chatting up the smiling vet
nurse. Seriously, he actually made normally straight-laced Lara
giggle and simper like some vapid miss of old. Tim supposed some
women would find the Lawson man handsome.

Lara turned to
take a receipt from the printer and saw him. “Tim, this is Marty,
Cindy’s brother.”

Marty lothario
Lawson.

Pasting a smile
on his face, Tim came forward and offered his hand in a handshake.
“I’m Tim, Cindy’s vet.” Wow, that rolled off his tongue so
easily.

Marty took his
hand and gave it a real man-to-man handshake. “Good to meet you,
man. Cindy’s told us a lot about you.”

Uh-oh.

“She was so
impressed with what you did for Al.”

“Al?”

“Her kitten.
That screaming little shit machine she’s fallen in love with. I’m
telling you, it’s taken over her life. It’s taking over everyone’s
life. Cindy hardly goes out, Mum’s besotted with it, hell, even Dad
was over there today baby-sitting it.”

“Really?” Tim
relaxed a little. Somehow he just knew that if Marty knew he’d had
sex with his sister on her kitchen table and then upset her, he
wouldn’t have been so friendly. From what he remembered hearing,
Cindy’s family was close. If one family remember got hurt, the rest
would come looking for whoever did it.

Handy to
remember and a great help in his decision to stay well away from
Cindy.

“Yeah. It’s
just what she needed, though.”

“She told me
her cat died.”

“Man, she loved
that old flea bag. Cried for a week when it died. Al is good for
her.” Marty reached out and picked up the kitten formula.

Tim couldn’t
fail to notice the rather dreamy smile Lara bestowed on Marty as
she handed him the receipt. “Picking up the baby formula, huh?”

“Cindy asked me
to. I thought she’d love to come in and give you all an update on
her pride and joy, but I guess she’s probably a little tired from
feeding it night and day.” Marty winked at Lara. “New baby and
all.”

Lara
laughed.

“Anyway.” Marty
waved the can of formula at them. “Thanks for this. I’ll let her
know I met you, Tim. She’ll be pleased.”

Tim somehow
doubted it, but he nodded and smiled and watched Marty leave the
clinic. Going to the window, he saw him get into a fancy four wheel
drive - looked like a Jeep or Land Rover or something - and talk to
someone waiting in the passenger seat.

Tim’s heart
stuttered just a little. Was Cindy in the passenger seat? He waited
with bated breath as the Jeep-Land Rover-whatever - backed out and
turned, and he saw it was a cute little redhead who was chatting
animatedly to Marty.

Tim sighed.

Lara
sighed.

They both
looked at each other.

“What are you
sighing about?” Tim queried.

“I know what
I’m sighing about, but I’m a little worried about what
you’re
sighing at,” she returned.

“Ha ha. I do
not bat for the opposite team.”

“Good. I don’t
need the competition.”

“You don’t have
enough work to do.”

“Says the man
hanging out the window with me.”

Shaking his
head, Tim went back out to the treatment room to check on the
surgical cases that had been operated on already.

The day passed
busily and when knock-off time came, he was relieved to finally be
on his way home.

He half
expected Mike to be waiting for him but then realised that he was
probably working a late shift again. His nuts were his own for
another day, hallelujah.

Not feeling in
the mood to go out, he showered and padded around in his usual
dress of boxers and nothing else. Sitting down in his armchair, he
thought he was getting to be a regular stay-at-home-old-fart.
Seriously, he had to start going out again. Being in every night
just wasn’t the thing to do.

Thank goodness
tomorrow was Saturday and he had the whole day off. He could sleep
in and later go out to the pub and see what women were on the prowl
that might suit him for a - Tim groaned.
Saturday
. His
Aunt’s birthday at his mother’s house. No clubbing, no pubbing, no
boinking unless he picked up a shagger’s delight at his Mother’s
party.

Oh joy. Way to
spoil what should have been a perfectly good day.

The thought
called for a beer.

Chapter
Five

“Mads!” Cindy
bounded up the steps. “I’m here!”

Opening the
door, Maddy smiled. “No kidding?”

“Too true.”
Hearing the low music in the background, Cindy easily picked up the
beat and danced past her best friend and into the house. “Good
tune. Dance with me.”

“I’m not a good
dancer, you know that - oh!” Maddy gave a shriek as Cindy grabbed
her hands and whirled her around.

It didn’t take
long for them to both bogey up the short corridor to the
kitchen.

“I am so glad
Mike didn’t see that.” Maddy laughed.

“He ought to
take you dancing.” Cindy tickled a wide-eyed Chaz under the chin,
laughing as the big Siamese went all dreamy-eyed.

“Mike and
dancing don’t mix. The only dancing he likes is…” Maddy
blushed.

“The horizontal
tango?” Cindy winked. “Mads, you cheeky chit, you.”

“Let’s just say
that he - let’s just say nothing.” Crossing to the sink, she filled
the kettle. “How’s the new baby?”

“Al is
gorgeous. When are you coming to see him?”

“How about
tomorrow afternoon? I can call in on my way home.”

“Sounds like a
plan.”

Plugging in the
kettle, Maddy glanced at her. “I hear Tim is your new vet.”

“He did so well
in getting Al through the first night, so as far as I’m concerned
I’m happy to have him do me.” Cindy blanched as Maddy’s eyes
widened. “I mean do Al. Look after Al.”

Good grief.
Cindy mentally rolled her eyes. Tim had already done her and look
how that had turned out.

Taking a tin
from an overhead cupboard, Maddy withdrew some home made biscuits
and placed them on a small plate. “Don’t you feel a little disloyal
to your old vet?”

“I haven’t
thought about it.” Leaning her chin on her hand, Cindy watched
Yamaha, the grey kitten, come running through the door and skid to
a halt just before she banged into Chaz. “Do you ever think about
changing to Tim’s clinic, him being Mike’s best friend?”

“Nope. My vet
has looked after Chaz since he was a kitten and I’m happy with
her.” Maddy placed the plate in the middle of the table.

“Huh.”

“What?”

“I guess I just
thought that Tim and Mike being best friends would influence your
decision.” Cindy nibbled thoughtfully on a biscuit.

Maddy shook her
head. “Nope. Mike knew Tim long before I did, and I knew my vet
long before I knew Tim.”

Cindy nodded.
“Fair enough.” She watched Maddy get a pot of tea ready. “So,
where’s Mike? Working?”

“Yep, late
shift.”

“Good thing you
understand shift work.”

“Trust me,
after working in a hospital as a nurse, shift work becomes a part
of your life.”

“Glad you’re
not doing it anymore?”

Maddy smiled.
“I like working for the
Gold Link Nursing
Association
. Attending to people in their homes gives you a
whole new understanding of them.”

“Probably why
you can handle Mike.” Cindy grinned.

“And probably
why I can handle being around you.” Maddy poured the tea.

“Uncalled for.
We met in primary school.”

“Even then, I
was able to handle the weird ones.”

“That’s just
lovely.” Cindy accepted the cup of tea. “Touches my heart, that
does.”

“The tea?”

“No, you dork.
You calling me weird.”