No, not like a teenager.Like an adult woman whose hormones had suddenly roared back to life with a vengeance. She’d never responded to a man like that before. Not even Travis, at their first meeting, when he’d been charming and attentive and everything she thought she wanted. Travis had been polished, controlled, a perfect fit for her meticulously planned life. Victor Jackson was the opposite. He was controlled, yes, but it was the control of a dam holding back a flood. There was a wildness to him, and it called to a part of her she hadn’t known existed.
Which is ridiculous. He’s my doctor, she reminded herself again.Nothing is going to happen between us.
Telling herself she wasn’t disappointed, she took a deep breath, smoothed down her dress, and did her best to fix a pleasant, neutral smile on her face as she went to join him.
CHAPTER 4
Victor fled—there was no other word for it—into his office, closing the door behind him. His hands were shaking again, his control fraying at the edges. He pressed his palms flat on the desk and breathed, counting, forcing Hyde back into the cage.
Every moment of the appointment was etched on his mind—the feel of her soft curves beneath his hands and the sight of the perfect, pale skin stretched taut across her round little stomach. The taut little peaks of her nipples beneath the flimsy gown. The sweetness of her scent filling the sterile room, making it almost impossible to think.
She was attracted to him.The realization had sent a bolt of heat straight through him as Hyde rumbled approval. He had to force himself to step back, to put distance between them before he did something irreparably stupid. He’d managed to conduct the exam with his usual clinical precision, but every touch was torture.
And the sound of her baby’s heartbeat, a steady drumbeat of life that resonated in his bones… He’d heard hundreds of fetalheartbeats in his career, but this one was different. This one called to something deep and primal inside him—the part of him that was purely Hyde.
He remembered the way the tears had streamed down her face as she stared at the screen with an expression of such raw, unguarded love that it made his chest ache. She’d been doing all of it alone—the appointments, the fear, the wonder—without anyone to hold her hand or share the miracle of that tiny, perfect heartbeat. Hyde had surged forward with a possessive rage so strong that he’d nearly lost his grip on the transducer.
Ours to protect.
He’d never felt anything so powerful. In thirty-six years, Hyde had never reacted like this. He’d felt attraction, yes, but this was different. This was an all-consuming need to claim, to protect, to?—
No. The baby wasn’t his. The woman wasn’t his. He was her doctor and nothing more. By the time she knocked on the door, he’d managed to lock himself down. Barely.
“Come in.”
She entered, fully dressed again, but her eyes were wide and uncertain. She looked so vulnerable that it was all he could do not to go to her, to wrap her in his arms and tell her she was safe. Instead, he forced himself to remain at his desk as she sat in the chair across from him, her hands folded neatly in her lap. He picked up a pen to keep from reaching for her.
“Everything is progressing well,” he said, his voice clipped and professional. “The baby is healthy, your weight gain is appropriate, and your vitals are good, aside from the elevated heart rate. We’ll keep an eye on that.”
He paused, the question he needed to ask burning in his throat.
“Your records indicate you’re currently single. Who will be your support system here in Fairhaven Falls?”
She stiffened, her chin lifting in a gesture he was beginning to recognize as defensive. “I’m… managing. I’m quite independent.”
Alone,Hyde snarled, and he had to loosen his grip on the pen to keep from crushing it.
“Independence is an admirable quality, Miss Bennington. But pregnancy, childbirth, and child-rearing are not solitary endeavors. You will need help.”
Her eyes flashed. “I’m aware of my responsibilities, Doctor. I’ve had six months to come to terms with them. I don’t have a partner, but that doesn’t mean I’m completely without resources. I have a comfortable place to live and adequate funds.” She paused. “In fact, I may be taking a position organizing the town archives as well.”
Every muscle in his body went rigid. “Working for Mayor Ironmane?”
“Yes. We’re meeting to discuss the job this afternoon.”
The archives? That moldy, dust-choked basement in the town hall. Alone, surrounded by crumbling records and God knew what else. The building was old, the stairs narrow and uneven. The ventilation was terrible. She could trip, fall, inhale mold spores?—
“That’s unsuitable work for a pregnant woman.”
The words came out harsher than he’d intended. Her eyes widened, then narrowed.
“I beg your pardon?”
He forced himself to soften his tone, though Hyde was clawing at his ribs. “The town archives are located in the basement of the town hall. The air quality is poor, the lighting inadequate, and the stairs are a hazard. In your condition?—”
“In my condition, I’m perfectly capable of walking down stairs and organizing dusty files.” Her voice had gone cold. “I appreciate your concern, Dr. Jackson, but I want the work. And I’m quite capable of assessing my own limitations.”
Stubborn.The word held grudging admiration. She was small and alone and vulnerable, but she had a spine of steel. Hyde rumbled with unexpected approval even as the urge to lock her somewhere safe—his house, his bed, anywhere but that death trap of a basement—threatened to overwhelm him.
