Page 34 of Examining the Bond

Heat scorches my cheeks at the question. “Well, I… You don’t?—”

A knock at the door cuts me off.

Every muscle in my body tenses, and my eyes flick toward the locked door. Then they fall back to Riann as she hastily tries to adjust her clothes.

“Who is it?” I call, keeping a leash on my nerves.

“Mackenzie,” the nurse replies. Her voice is muffled by the door. “I have the test results for Mr. Clifton. We need you to look them over.”

Shit.

I look down at myself, assessing the situation. I can’t answer the door like this.

And I desperately need to shower—or change clothes at the very least—before I see another patient today. If we get caught, if anyone finds out what I just did, I can kiss my life goodbye.

Riann, my job, my license.I’ll lose them all.

Double shit.

“Dr. Morales?” Mackenzie calls when I don’t answer.

My head is spinning as I try to work my way out of this mess I’ve made. Meanwhile, Riann is staring at me, looking mortified.

“Leave them in the lab, and I’ll come get them on my lunch break.” It’s a long shot, but I have to say something.Anythingto get the nurse to go away.

A beat of silence passes, and I say a silent prayer that we make it out of this without getting caught. I feel like I might implode. Every worst case scenario plays out in my head as I imagine what my unemployed future looks like.

Thankfully, Mackenzie replies with a simple, “Yes, ma’am.”

I refuse to move until her footsteps recede down the hall, and even then my senses are on high alert. I turn around to face Riann, the terror on her face making my chest clench painfully.

“That was close,” she whispers, looking around at the mess we’ve made of my office.

“It was.” My heart is pounding in my throat as I grab her and drag her into me, slamming my lips against hers.

This time, she comes alive, throwing her arms around my neck to deepen our kiss, and I tangle my hand in her hair. I kiss her like it’s the last chance I’ll ever get to do it, like the moment she walks out that door this will just be a thing of the past.

It needs to be a thing of the past.

I’ve already risked so much; I can’t do it again.

We didn’t get caught today, but who’s to say we’ll be so lucky next time?

Besides, how am I supposed to figure out what’s going on with her if I can’t keep my hands out of her pants?Or in this case, that sexy black skirt…

Fuck, I don’t want to let her go. I want to stay this way, wrapped up in her. I want to explore every inch of her, taste every part I wasn’t able to already. But I know it’s a terrible idea.

A terrible, horrible idea that I can’t get out of my head.

Before I can talk myself out of it, I pull away. Every part of me protests, demanding I keep touching her, but our time is up. I have to sneak home on my break to shower and change and Riann needs to get cleaned up.

The desire to take her home with me to wash her myself, to tuck her into a nest and cuddle her while I press gentle kisses against her skin is overwhelming.

Hijo de su?—

“You have to go,” I say, my voice barely audible.

The way her face falls stabs me in the chest, but I have to get away from her. If I don’t get myself togetherright now, I’m going to sink my teeth into her and never let her go. I’m going to give in to the alpha urges shredding me apart from the inside and fall so deep into a rut I won’t find my way out for a week. I’m protecting her as much as me by making her leave.