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She shivered. “I feel weird.”
I looked her up and down. “Weird how?”
Awareness of her was like a shadow sweeping through the back of my mind. Her confusion twisted there, flickers of desire and discomfort vying for my attention.
“Like I’m in heat, but I’m not due for months.” Allie stretched and sighed. “It’s not as intense, though. Like a baby heat.”
Did that mean we were actually bonded? Fucking hell. I’d wanted to keep her so badly and the universe had granted my wish. But how? Spontaneous heats were so rare I’d never dealt with one in my career and hadn’t heard about any coming into the clinic.
“I…don’t know what would cause that.”
“Are you okay? You look kinda wigged out.”
“I am wigged out.”
She sat up and scooted over. “Talk to me.”
“I lost myself with you. I hurt you.” I traced over the bruises on her hip.
“I can’t even feel those. It’s fine.”
I put a hand over hers. “I’m so used to being in control. It scares me that I wasn’t.”
“I’m totally okay, and I trust you. You don’t have to be in control all the time.”
“I still need to know what caused it.” I turned my face to hers, dropping a soft kiss to her lips. I glanced at the clock on the wall. “How did three hours pass?”
“Very enjoyably,” Allie said, laughing. “Do you want me to sleep over?”
“Absolutely.” I had wanted her to already, but there was no way I was sending her away before I figured things out. “Let me make a call.”
“Okay,” Allie said, getting comfortable in the blankets. “I’ll be here.”
I located my phone and poked at the contact for my boss. She answered on the second ring.
“Hey, Dr. J, it’s Sidney.” I wandered out of the room so I could also check on the puppies, keeping one hand on the wall to steady myself as I went.
“I can see on the call display,” she said, her tone light. “What’s up?”
“I had something weird happen.”
“Oh?” The lightness in her voice shifted.
“So, I’ve never gone into a rut before since I’m not bonded, but that’s the only thing I can think of that I’ve ever heard with similar symptoms. Is there anything like that?” I opened the nursery to find all the pups sleeping in a pile.
“I can look into it,” said Dr. James. “I’m not sure off the top of my head. Are you all right?”
“I’m fine, I think. It was just unexpected.”
“Were you with someone when it happened?”
“Uh, yeah, actually. Allison Carmichael.”
“Oh, Sidney.”
We hadn’t talked about Allie for years, but she’d helped us stay apart for this very reason. Was she disappointed in me?
“Is it the same as when she was a client of yours?”
