Page 42 of Examining the Bond

My stomach sours, and I make a face. “You mean more blood?”

“This should be the last round. Hopefully.”

My eyes slip over to where she laid her messenger bag, knowing it’s probably full of medical equipment. My insides twist and my skin crawls.

I fucking hate needles…

“I know I’ve already asked a lot of you, but please don’t mention me coming here to anyone at the office.” Skylar’s voice grabs my attention again, and my eyes snap in her direction. “It probably wouldn’t go over well with the board.”

I nod, understanding. “You must not like your job very much, considering how much you like to break the rules.”

At that, she laughs. “Let’s just say, I’ve made better decisions.”

I take a deep breath, steeling myself for the needle stick I know is coming, and sit up a little straighter.

“Alright,” I say, turning my arm to offer her a vein. “Let’s get this over with.”

To my surprise, she doesn’t move. I’m beginning to wonder if I misunderstood, but she was pretty clear. What other kind of DNA sample could she possibly need?

I blink, waiting for a response.

“That is why I came, but…” She trails off, debating her next words. “But I also wanted to see you. Is it okay if I hang out for a little bit? You can say no, and I’ll?—”

“Yes.” I cut her off. “Please, stay. It’s not like I’m doing anything tonight.” I gesture around the boring room, then to my comfy clothes.

“Okay, cool.” She runs a hand through her hair, and it falls perfectly above her eyes.

She’s so hot it should be a crime…

A long second of silence stretches between us, discomfort prickling over my skin, and I wonder if she can feel it too. We’re doing things a bit backward—fucking and then trying to get toknow one another—but my intuition tells me we’re exactly where we’re supposed to be.

We just have to get past the awkward tension…

“If you’re staying, you might as well get comfortable too,” I say, turning to crawl up the bed. I grab the remote off the side table and click the TV on, patting the bed beside me. “Do you like TV? I have three decent channels to choose from.”

Her eyes bounce from me to the bed and back. “You’re serious?”

“Uh, yeah? You’ve already been inside me. Being in bed together should be nothing.”

Her cheeks pinken, which I pretend not to notice, and my stomach flutters as she shoves out of the chair again. She unzips her jacket and peels it off, and my eyebrows nearly hit my hairline. Her tan arms are perfectly sculpted, like she spends her afternoons in the gym, and they're covered in vibrant, black-lined tattoos.

Holy hell.

She tosses her jacket on the chair and kicks her shoes off before hesitantly crawling into bed next to me. Sitting with her back against the headboard, she folds her hands respectfully in her lap. When she finally looks in my direction, she finds me staring.

My breath catches.

“Is this okay?”

Warmth sinks through me at the question, and I can’t get over how cute she is outside of the clinic. She’s much more timid and reserved than I’d imagined from the way she proudly ate me out in the middle of her office, but maybe that’s another effect of the suppressants.

“Very.” I nod before turning my attention back to the TV. I flip through the few decent channels, settling on a sci-fi movie I’ve heard of but never seen, and then I toss the remote aside.

I lay down next to her, curling up with my favorite throw blanket, but I can’t keep my eyes off Skylar for more than a few seconds. Even though she’s here, hints of her smothered pine scent teasing my nostrils, it still feels like a dream.

A dream I don’t want to end.

“Say it,” she finally says, her dark eyes falling down to meet mine. “What are you thinking?”